Are people right when they say, "You are just taking the easy way out" when I tell them I am planning to have bariatric surgery?

I have often heard my patients explain that when they share that they are planning to have bariatric surgery with a friend or family member they are told, “you are just taking the easy way out”.

I tell my patients that anyone who makes a statement like this clearly does not know what they are talking about.

• There is nothing easy about complying with all of the requirements from your insurance company
• There is nothing easy about completing all of the preoperative workup and consultations to prepare for surgery
• There is nothing easy about recovering from any surgery let alone a life changing operation like bariatric surgery
• There is nothing easy about getting your mind around the changes that need to be made to be successful after bariatric surgery.

Taking the easy way out? I say, “NO WAY!”

My patients who have had bariatric surgery believe bariatric surgery is a reliable way out of a very difficult situation. And I agree. Since a person of size that meets criteria for bariatric surgery has less than a 5% chance of losing significant amount of weight and keeping it off long term with diet, exercise and behavior modification, bariatric surgery is clearly the best option for a person of size to resolve their obesity and keep the weight off.

Said another way, 95% of patients that meet criteria for bariatric surgery that choose to lose weight without bariatric surgery will regain the weight lost within 2 years of the weight loss. Everyone can lose weight. We all know that. The problem is keeping the weight off. Nearly every patient that has come to me for bariatric surgery has been through 10 to 20 weight loss programs and have lost significant 60, 80 or even 100 lbs temporarily only to have gained their weight back and more!

This yo-yo effect of weight loss is very discouraging and people feel that nothing is going to work for them since nothing has been effective long term in the past. Frankly many of my patients feel like a failure and they feel there is no way out. They are even afraid that they will be the one person that surgery will not work for.

It is truly a privilege to share with them that there is hope for them.

In fact about 85% of people that have bariatric surgery are successful long term. In our program the rate of long term success is much better than the average since Fresh Start Bariatrics has a very robust program and our patients are well prepared even before they have bariatric surgery. I do not say this to brag but to share with you that there really is hope for those who chose bariatric surgery.

Is bariatric surgery “the easy way out”? There is nothing easy about bariatric surgery for any bariatric surgery patient but it is a reliable way for people of size to lose most or even all of their excess weight, resolve, improve or prevent many obesity related medical problems and to begin life again without the suffering and despair caused by obesity.

There is hope for those that choose bariatric surgery so do not listen to people that know so little about the subject that they tell you that you are “just taking the easy way out”. They clearly do not know what they are talking about and are not worthy to advise you and are not likely to support you in your quest toward better health.

Take heart. There really is hope for persons of size.

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